‘Humane’ Movie Review: Caitlin Cronenberg’s Directorial Debut Has a Fascinating Concept with Poor Execution
Photo from Steve Wilkie/IFC Films/Shudder
From Jeff Nelson
Caitlin Cronenberg, daughter of body horror filmmaker David Cronenberg, brings her own perspective to the world of cinema with her directorial feature debut in Humane. Her brother, Brandon Cronenberg, elicited comparison to their father’s twisted sub-genre footsteps with the likes of Antiviral, Possessor, and Infinity Pool. That’s rather unlikely to be the case for Humane but not for the right reasons.
After an environmental collapse, humanity’s population size far exceeds the planet’s essential resources. Humanity must shave down its numbers by 20% for the greater society to survive. Charles York (Peter Gallagher) invites his adult children to a dinner party that quickly erupts into chaos when he announces that his wife, Dawn (Uni Park), will join him in enlisting in the government’s new voluntary euthenasia program.
The York patriarch rarely makes time for his family, possessing power and wealth that subsequently extends to his children, who generally lack morality and familial connections. Jared (Jay Baruchel) is an anthropologist and professor with the opinion that the government’s age requirement for the euthenasia program should be lowered to allow younger persons to give up their lives for their country, further separating him from his already estranged wife and young son. Meanwhile, Rachel (Emily Hampshire) brings her underage daughter, Mia (Sirena Gulamgaus), to the dinner that will change their lives forever. Noah (Sebastian Chacon) and Ashley (Alanna Bale) round out the family, both of whom have hopes and dreams for the future that inform their motivations throughout the film’s primary conflict.
Dawn’s decision to leave soon before the euthenasia team arrives ultimately puts the York children in a dilemma where a ruthless government employee (Enrico Colantoni) and his squad refuse to leave with only one York body. The family dynamic is reminiscent of a reverse Knives Out, where none of these characters are particularly good people and they’re prepared to throw one another onto death’s doorstep for a larger chunk of Charlie’s estate intended to be split evenly among them.
Screenwriter Michael Sparaga’s core concept is captivating – what if an ecological collapse led to a government putting together a program rewarding families for the death of their loved ones in the name of preserving resources? Unfortunately, the unfolding social commentary is heavy handed and surface level. It’s yet another “eat the rich” movie that does little more than point out that wealthy people are corrupt and out of touch – “rules aren’t made for people like us,” as Jared suggests, while persistently announcing that he isn’t a racist in the wake of his insensitive statements. Conservatives call the ecological disaster the “Asian collapse,” although none of this is explored with any nuance. There are a lot of concepts casually mentioned, only to be instantly dropped.
Similar to 2013’s The Purge, Humane closes the narrative off to the havoc of the outside world, physically locking the characters within the York patriarch’s home. There is very little world building going on here, choosing to focus on the least rousing part of the story. Cronenberg and her cast weave dark comedy into this thriller, but it’s never particularly funny or stirring. It transforms into a cat-and-mouse game that has a lot more on its mind than it’s capable of capturing.
Humane is alluring at first glance, but its redundant eat the rich commentary paired with mediocre genre trappings make for a rather tepid thriller. It teases worldbuilding, dark comedy, and a violent fight for survival, yet all of these elements feel as if they’re tiptoeing through the motions, falling far short of their potential. There’s a good film buried somewhere in there that never gets the chance to break through.
Rating: 2/5
Humane hits theaters on April 26th, 2024 and it begins streaming on Shudder starting July 26th, 2024.
